Services and Fees

Services

Discovery call: free, 15 minutes

The discovery call is a free 15-minute call with no obligation. We talk about what's bringing you in and how I work, you can ask about fees and scheduling, and we decide together whether to book an initial consultation.

Initial consultation: $325 for 60 minutes

The initial consultation is the 60-minute appointment that begins treatment. We review your symptoms, the treatment you've had so far and the emotional and relational context in which the symptoms developed, and we clarify your goals. From there, we build a treatment plan together.

Ongoing sessions: $265 for 60 minutes

Ongoing sessions are 60 minutes long, structured and experiential. They draw on Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), Pain Reprocessing Therapy and attachment-oriented psychodynamic therapy informed by ISTDP (intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy), and my approach describes how I combine the three.

Expert case consultation: $425 for 75 minutes

An expert case consultation is a single 75-minute appointment for a second opinion or a full review of your case, with no commitment to ongoing treatment. Referring clinicians can also book one to consult on a complex case, and they can find more on my page for physicians.

How a course of treatment is planned

The number of sessions depends on what you're working on. We set a plan together at the initial consultation, then review your progress and the plan at regular points, so the work stays purposeful and you always know where it stands. For most people, I estimate one initial consultation followed by 12 to 16 ongoing sessions, ideally weekly. At my standard fees, that comes to about $3,505 to $4,565 in all, and your Good Faith Estimate gives the figure for your own plan.

The main trials of the methods I use were built around fairly short courses of treatment. In a 2024 randomized trial of EAET by Yarns and colleagues, published in JAMA Network Open, older veterans with chronic pain had nine 90-minute sessions, and pain fell more with EAET than with cognitive behavioral therapy. In a 2022 randomized trial of Pain Reprocessing Therapy by Ashar and colleagues, published in JAMA Psychiatry, adults with chronic back pain had one evaluation and education session with a physician and then eight individual therapy sessions over four weeks. Two thirds of the therapy group were pain-free or nearly pain-free afterward.

Payment

Payment is due at the time of service, by credit card through a secure client portal.

Superbills for out-of-network reimbursement

I don't submit claims to insurance, but I can give you a superbill, a detailed receipt with the information your plan asks for. You submit it yourself, and your plan decides how much it reimburses under your out-of-network benefits.

Cancellations and missed sessions

If you need to cancel or reschedule, please let me know at least 24 hours ahead. A session cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, or missed, is charged the full session fee.

Your right to a Good Faith Estimate

Because you pay for your care yourself, the No Surprises Act gives you the right to a Good Faith Estimate of what your care is expected to cost. The right also applies if you have health insurance and choose not to have a claim sent to your plan.

I provide the estimate in writing, and you can ask me for one at any time. If you are billed at least $400 more than your estimate, you can dispute the bill through the federal patient-provider dispute resolution process within 120 calendar days of receiving the first bill, so keep a copy of your estimate.

For more information, see the federal guide to Good Faith Estimates or call the No Surprises Help Desk at 1-800-985-3059.

Common questions

How much does a pain psychologist cost out of pocket?

With me, the discovery call is free, the 60-minute initial consultation is $325, and ongoing 60-minute sessions are $265. Because I don't bill insurance, those fees are what you pay for each appointment, and if you have out-of-network benefits you can submit a superbill to your plan for possible reimbursement.

Do you take insurance?

I don't bill insurance, so you pay for each session directly at my standard fees, whether or not you have coverage. If your plan has out-of-network benefits, I can give you a superbill to submit yourself for possible reimbursement. My practice sends no claims about your care to a health plan, so whether your plan hears about it is up to you.

Can a psychologist help with chronic pain?

Yes. A psychologist can treat chronic pain alongside the medical care you already have, and in randomized trials the methods I use have reduced pain for adults living with chronic pain. My approach describes what those trials found.

What type of therapy is good for chronic pain?

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), the method I lead with, reduced pain more than cognitive behavioral therapy in a 2024 randomized trial by Yarns and colleagues. The 126 older veterans in that trial had lived with chronic pain for an average of 23 years. By the end of treatment, their average pain severity on a 0-to-10 scale had fallen 2.18 points with EAET and 0.60 points with cognitive behavioral therapy, and six months later EAET's reduction was still the larger of the two. My approach describes the three methods I use.

How much does Pain Reprocessing Therapy cost, and does insurance cover it?

Sessions that use this method cost the same as any other session with me: $265 for 60 minutes, after a $325 initial consultation. I completed the Pain Reprocessing Therapy Center's Foundational (Level I) training, and I use the method within my regular sessions, so it carries no separate fee. I don't bill insurance for it or for any other service, though I can give you a superbill to submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement.

Start with a free discovery call

A free discovery call is a chance to ask about fees, scheduling or how I work before you commit to anything, and if we decide to go ahead, we schedule your initial consultation from there.

Book a free discovery call

References

Ashar, Y. K., Gordon, A., Schubiner, H., Uipi, C., Knight, K., Anderson, Z., Carlisle, J., Polisky, L., Geuter, S., Flood, T. F., Kragel, P. A., Dimidjian, S., Lumley, M. A., & Wager, T. D. (2022). Effect of pain reprocessing therapy vs placebo and usual care for patients with chronic back pain: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 79(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.2669

Yarns, B. C., Jackson, N. J., Alas, A., Melrose, R. J., Lumley, M. A., & Sultzer, D. L. (2024). Emotional awareness and expression therapy vs cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain in older veterans: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 7(6), e2415842. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.15842